


a lure i can't deny

by somehowunbroken



Series: we're a fight waiting to happen [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 08:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3403031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somehowunbroken/pseuds/somehowunbroken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first thing that Derek thinks when he wakes in the morning is, <i>wow, I really do hurt a lot less. Dex was-</i></p><p>The first-and-a-half thought is <i>oh, holy shit, <b>Dex</b></i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a lure i can't deny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariadne83](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariadne83/gifts).



> avoiding my feelings about the latest update by writing nursey/dex? me? yeah, completely. can i go 24 hours without posting something about these two? hahaha, bro. no.
> 
> title is from the postal service's "nothing better," which makes me have a lot of feelings in general but especially about this particular story, because it has a line about cracked ribs and a line about hockey. ignore the fact that it's a breakup song, please.

The first thing that Derek thinks when he wakes in the morning is, _wow, I really do hurt a lot less. Dex was-_

The first-and-a-half thought is _oh, holy shit, **Dex**_.

Dex, who is still curled around Derek like - like they're somehow close, intimate. He's breathing softly against the back of Derek's neck, clearly still asleep, and Derek has to force himself to stay as still as he can, because-

Lots of reasons. Lots of reasons like Derek's memories from last night, with Dex getting riled about the game, Dex finding his painkillers and making sure he took them right, Dex sliding his hands up the back of Derek's shirt and slipping into bed to press their bodies together-

Derek closes his eyes. Fuck everything. Fuck being eighteen and attracted to guys, fuck his injury, fuck Dex's sudden niceness, _especially_ fuck the way Dex's hand is still settled low on Derek's stomach, close enough that if either one of them shifts even the slightest bit, Dex is going to wake up with a lot more in his hand than he bargained for.

It's not like Derek can just make his way out of bed and pretend nothing ever happened, either. For one, now that he's more awake he's more aware of how his chest is aching, and how the moves necessary to get himself out of Dex's grip are just not in his repertoire right now. For another, he's between Dex and the wall, and there's nowhere near enough room for subtlety.

Dex's breathing changes like he's getting ready to wake up. Sure enough, after a minute or so Dex rubs his face against the back of Derek's neck, and Derek very heroically doesn't make any embarrassing noises.

"Nursey?" Dex asks, warm and sleepy, and yeah, Derek's going to hell for imagining different circumstances, for thinking about things that just aren't - can't-

"How can you possibly be so tense at whatever godawful time it is," Dex grumbles. He's still not moving away.

Derek isn't sure what's going to come out of his mouth when he opens it, but silence clearly isn't getting him anywhere. "Dex."

"Still me," Dex confirms. His fingertips press slightly against Derek's stomach before he finally, thank god, finally moves his hand. Derek doesn't wish that he'd left it, except with maybe like 40% of himself. Maybe 45%.

He's completely fucked. Shit.

"How are the ribs?" Dex asks, turning slowly away so he can rest on his back next to Derek. Derek can feel him stretching out, rolling his left shoulder so he can make it pop and release the tension from the injury his junior year of high school. It's a weird detail to remember, but suddenly Derek wants the story, wants more than a halfhearted shrug and Dex telling everyone that it's fine now, it just gets stiff sometimes.

Derek doesn't realise how long he's been thinking about it until Dex rolls back towards him a little. "Hey, Nursey, you're starting to freak me out a little."

"Dex," Derek says again.

Dex snorts. "I haven't changed into anyone else in the last few minutes, no."

Derek takes a deep breath and forces himself to get a grip. "Ribs are better than they were last night, but I still think a nice hot shower would feel great right about now."

"Yeah, that'd probably be good," Dex agrees. "And, hey, you know what else would help? A painkiller. Get up, get in the shower, and we'll see if you're up to making the trip to the dining hall when you're done." He hesitates for a minute. "You, uh, need any help getting up or carrying your shit to the bathroom or whatever?"

"No," Derek says immediately, but he reconsiders as Dex gets up. "Well, maybe. Can you stick around until I'm on my feet?"

"Sure," Dex says. There's a rustling noise that Derek remembers from last night, and he manages to turn onto his back in time to see Dex tugging his shirt the rest of the way down. Derek does his best to swallow past the sudden dryness in his throat, and he purposely twists just a little bit the wrong way so he's got something to concentrate on that isn't the sharp jut of Dex's hipbone showing where his shirt isn't quite pulled straight.

"Hey, stop," Dex says, sounding annoyed as he takes the few steps back to the side of Derek's bed. "Quit doing whatever the hell is making you make that face."

"Breathing?" Derek says, raising an eyebrow.

Dex snorts. "C'mon, get up. As the dude who slept next to you all night, I can tell you that yeah, you need that shower, okay?"

Derek rolls his eyes. This is better; this is neutral territory for them. "Out of my way, Dex. This isn't going to be pretty."

Dex takes a step back, hands loose and open at his sides like he's ready to jump back to Derek's side if he starts toppling over or something. Derek feels like Dex's eyes track every shift of muscle as Derek forces himself up. The pain isn't as bad as he'd been expecting, honestly.

 _Slight heat to relax the muscles, right up against you all night_ , his brain supplies helpfully. Derek grits his teeth and slides off the bed.

"Okay," he says aloud when he's got his feet planted on the ground. "I'm up. I'm stable. I'm gonna shower."

"That's the spirit," Dex says, slow-clapping. "Rah rah, go get 'em, little buddy." He pauses. "I mean, you got this, right? You don't need me to grab your shit?"

Derek waves his hand. "I'll manage." He gets his towel and shower basket carefully, and smirks triumphantly when he straightens up with everything in hand. "See? I got this, bro."

Dex nods. "Don't fall in the shower," he says sternly. "I'm gonna go shower too, and I'll meet you back here. If you're not back in half an hour, I'm coming in there after your naked ass, Nursey. Don't make me do that."

Derek nods and doesn't think about that, not at all.

Maybe with 50% of his brainpower. Definitely no more than that.

-0-

Dex is sprawled across Derek's bed when he makes his way back in. He has his phone out, and it sounds like he's texting someone.

"You up for a hike over to the Haus?" Dex asks, looking up from his phone. "Bits said he'd make waffles if we wanted, and I have to be honest with you here, I'm pretty sure if I tell him no he'll show with a big stack of them anyway."

Derek's stomach growls, and he rolls his eyes. "Apparently my stomach gets to decide. Let's do this."

Dex nods and shoots off another text before pocketing his phone. "Let's get going, then. Bits says that Chowder's already over there." He rolls his eyes. "I told Bitty to sit on him if he looks like he's gonna pull a tackle-hug."

"God,' Derek says, grimacing. He wants to shudder at the thought, but yeah, no. "Okay. This is gonna suck, but at the end of the walk is waffles."

"Attaboy," Dex says, making like he's going to thump Derek's shoulder. He catches himself before his hand lands, and instead ends up kind of awkwardly cupping Derek's shoulder for a few seconds.

"Right," Derek says. "Waffles."

"Yeah," Dex says, dropping his hand.

They walk slowly, Dex pacing Derek's measured steps. It really is a lot easier to move around now than it had been a couple of days ago, but Derek can tell it's going to be a while before he's doing sprints. It's usually a ten-minute walk from Derek's building to the Haus, but they're still walking twenty minutes after leaving. Derek's glad that the weather is finally starting to warm up, because making this walk at less than half speed in the winter they'd had would have been torture.

"So," Dex says as they finally turn onto the street that the Haus is on. "We're cool, right?"

"Huh?" Derek asks, blinking.

Dex waves his hand between them. "The whole… last night. Thing."

"Chill," Derek says easily, habitually, but it makes Dex tense up. "Yes. We're cool. Nothing weird, right?"

"Good," Dex says, blowing out a breath and sticking his hands in his pockets. "I mean… yeah. I mean good."

"Good," Derek repeats, just to get Dex to give that annoyed little huff. It's sort of a victory when he does, and somehow even more of one when it's accompanied by something that could, if you looked at it quickly enough, qualify as a smile.

"Dex," Derek says when they get to the Haus, just as Dex turns as says, "Hey, Nursey-"

Derek jerks his chin at Dex and waits. He's - he knows what he was going to say, yeah, fine, but maybe if Dex is going to try to, whatever, do something or say something to piss Derek off again-

"I just," Dex says, blowing out a breath. "Shit."

Derek snorts. "Okay, well, I was gonna start with saying thanks. For, uh."

"Yeah, well," Dex says, looking away and turning pink. It's seriously unattractive, Derek thinks with, at most, 10% of himself. There are so many reasons he's not a math major. "I just - okay, let me get this all out, because I swear to god, if you interrupt me I'll never say it. Deal?"

"Deal," Derek says. They're standing in front of the Haus now, by the stairs up to the porch. Derek's got antsy conflicting feelings in the back of his head, _we're so close to privacy for whatever this is_ at war with _holy god no, not in the Haus_.

"When you got hit," Dex starts. He's looking at the front door, glaring at the _Haus Sweet Haus_ rug like it's personally offended him. "When you went down, I - I started yelling."

 _Nursey, Nursey, Derek_. He remembers, and suddenly the shouting is in Dex's voice, hoarse and angry. He knows how the fight went after that; he got Ransom to send him the tape. Dex wasn't kidding when he said he messed the other guy up. He's probably worse off than Derek is at this point. Derek nods, even though Dex isn't looking at him.

"I was thinking - well, I don't know exactly, it wasn't really clear," he says, pushing a hand up into his hair and tugging. His hair's really too short for that, Derek thinks, sort of fascinated. "But it was - okay, when we're playing together, we're good. We're _great_ , and you went down with that giant fucker on top of you, and my _partner_ was hurt, and I couldn't-"

He stops and takes a breath. Derek wants to interrupt, to say he knows, he gets it, but Dex clearly isn't done.

"I was on that guy before the medics even got to you," Dex says, still staring at the rug. "And all I could think was, if you were hurt, this guy was gonna get hurt worse. That's what you get for…"

There's silence for a long time. Derek doesn't say anything, doesn't know what he could or would say, because this is - he's not sure, and the fact that he's not sure is goddamned terrifying.

"That's what you get for fucking with something that's _mine_ ," Dex says, quiet but somehow not soft. He turns suddenly, sharply, and that fierce pride that Derek remembers from the locker room right after Dex had gotten tossed out of the game is back.

"Dex," Derek says, because right, he's got this. He's not as bad at this as he maybe thinks he is. "My turn?"

Dex nods, and Derek steps right into his space and kisses him.

Dex's response is immediate. He slides his hands up Derek's arms and cups his shoulders, moving into Derek so they're touching everywhere. He's not gentle, but he's still careful when he moves one of his hands up and grips the back of Derek's neck. It's hard and hot and really, really great. Derek hadn't bothered to shave when he showered, and he can feel his stubble catching against Dex's cheek, his chin, as they move against each other. He can't help but groan when Dex pulls back a little.

"Glad we're on the same page," Dex says. His eyes are wild, and Derek's maybe thinking of the poetry readings Dex brought over, _from what I’ve tasted of desire_ and fire and ice, so he just nods and leans back in.

They kiss for - a while, Derek thinks, long enough for Dex to get good and stubble-burned, long enough for Derek's chest to start to hurt more than he should ignore. Neither of them is really presentable for company anymore; they're disheveled, and Derek knows for absolute fact that Dex is just as turned on as he is right now.

"We should go back to my room," Derek pulls back to say, and Dex nods a little, looking from Derek's eyes back to his mouth.

Which is, of course, when the door to the Haus opens and Chowder bursts out. "You guys, I've been - _oh my god_ , Bitty, come and look!"

Dex looks up at the door that Chowder had disappeared back into before sighing and stepping back. "Well, uh."

Derek grins and holds out his hand. "Got your back, bro," he says, and smiles a little wider when Dex takes his hand, strong and sure, and leads them inside.

**Author's Note:**

> picture every happy emoji you have ever seen. now picture chowder's face. they should match exactly.
> 
> the poem that nursey's thinking about is [robert frost's "fire and ice."](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173527)
> 
> i have a real emotional attachment to the thought of "derek nurse, english major, terrible at internal monologue," because let me tell you something: as someone who had an english minor, knowing all the words does not mean you're good at putting them in any sort of order that makes coherent sense. it just means you know more words to confuse yourself with.
> 
> [follow me on tumblr](http://somehowunbroken.tumblr.com) for lots of feelings.


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